In a digitalised world, consumers are pursued not only with the purpose to purchase more goods and services, but also for their data. This data is the raw material and currency of the digital economy. How has the digitalisation of all areas of life affected consumers, and what role does the regulatory implementation of the European Union's digital strategy play in this?

In cooperation with the Vienna Chamber of Labour, the Institute of Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences has addressed this issue as part of a project. The Artificial Intelligence Act, the Data Governance Act and the Data Act are approaches by the European Union to protect consumer rights while promoting the competitiveness of the EU. However, according to ITA researchers, global data collection has already reached a level that makes strong data protection virtually impossible.

The ITA dossier ‘The End of Privacy?’ summarises the findings from the analyses and recommends measures to strengthen the fundamental right to data protection. These include educational measures on the topic of ‘digitalisation’, more research on AI and its consequences, and the strengthening of data protection and cyber security.

Read more in ITA Dossier No. 84, ‘The End of Privacy?’

ITA project Privacy 3.0 – Consumer Identity in the Digital Space